devotion to their Sovereign and attachment to the House of Brunswick, heretofore so becomingly expressed by them.

He has had peculiar pleasure in explaining to the Princess of Wales their loyal congratulations; and he desires to convey to the Brethren the sincere thanks of the Princess for their generous wishes.

A grand feast was held at Freemasons'-Hall on the 13th of May, 1795, the Grand Master in the chair. His Royal Highness was accompanied by the Duke of Clarence, and Prince William of Gloucester, who had been initiated at an occasional Lodge convened for the purpose on the preceding evening. Five hundred Brethren were also present at this feast. Happiness was visible in every countenance, and the benevolent principles of Masonry cheered the heart. His Royal Highness thanked the Brethren for the many instances he had received of their attachment, and for the repeated honours they had conferred on him. After expressing his warmest wishes for the prosperity of the Society, he concluded with a handsome compliment to the Acting Grand Master, the Earl of Moira, whom he styled 'The man of his heart, and the friend he admired;' and sincerely hoped that he might long live to superintend the government of the Craft, and extend the principles of the Art.

SECT. XIII.

The History of Masonry from the Grand Feast in 1795, to the End of the Year 1800.

No remarkable event took place in the Society from the festival in 1795 till the year 1797. The greatest harmony prevailed among the Brethren during the whole period, and many valuable additions were made to the list of Lodges.

The

general contributions to the charitable funds were likewise considerably extended; and the annual reports from the Provincial Grand Masters, in their respective districts, announced the prosperity of the Craft.

The only circumstance which tended to damp the ardour of the Brethren for the propagation of the Art, either at home or abroad, was the publication of some tracts, which stated that a new sect of philosophers had arisen in Germany and France, who had affiliated themselves to the Society of Masons, and had, under that sanction, established Lodges, for the more extended dissemination of the principles of their new theory. To these philosophers was attributed the design of destroying Christianity,* and subverting all the regular governments of Europe. The degrees of Masonry were understood to be preparatory steps to this new establishment, and from that Society were selected the principal members of which this sect was composed. In their occult Lodges, as they were termed, were inculcated the seeds of those dangerous principles which had brought about the French revolution, and produced all the evils which had resulted from it.

The circulation of these publications excited a general alarm, and for some time checked the progress of the Society in Europe; till, the mystery being unveiled, it was found, that the constitutions of Masonry did not warrant the proceedings of this new system and that therefore new degrees had been instituted under the same appellation, to carry

:

They began the system by expunging every vestige of Christianity from their lectures, and excluding the New Testament altogether from the Lodges. One of their fundamental rules was to the following effect:-The Bible is to be of the Hebrew Text, and the New Testament is not to be bound up with it.'-EDITOR.

into effect the purposes of these new associates. The Masons of this country, and all the Lodges under the English constitution, were fully exempted from any share in the general censure; but, as the Society was much injured by these publications, few remarks on their contents may not be unacceptable to the reader.

a

The first tract which excited alarm was an octavo volume, intitled The Life of M. Zimmerman, first Physician to the King of England at Hanover. By Dr. Tissot.' From this work it appears, that one of the most distinguished incidents of Zimmerman's life was a summons which he received from the great Frederick, King of Prussia, to attend him in his last illness in 1786. This opportunity the Doctor improved, to enjoy a confidential intercourse with that illustrious character, from which he derived the materials of an interesting narrative, that he afterwards published. The partiality of this prince in favour of Zimmerman disposed him to a reciprocal good opinion of that monarch, and in 1788 he published A Defence of Frederick the Great against the Count de Mirabeau;' which was followed, in 1790, by Fragments on Frederick the Great,' in 3 vols. 12mo. The publications of Zimmerman relative to this king gave offence to some individuals, and subjected him to many severe criticisms, which he felt with more sensibility than accorded with his peace of mind. The religious and political opinions which he had imbibed in his latter years, were in wide contradiction to the principles which had so generally spread over Europe, and which operated as perpetual fuel to the irritability of his nervous system. About this time the rise of the Society of the Illuminati in Germany, who were said to have coalesced with the Freemasons, excited a violent commotion among

6

men of letters and reflection. The Society was supposed to have in view nothing less than the abolition of Christianity, and the subversion of all constituted authorities. Its partizans expected from it the most beneficial reforms of every kind; and its opponents dreaded from it every mischief that could happen to mankind. Zimmerman, who is represented to have been a hunter of sects, was among the first who took alarm at this formidable association, and stepped forth to oppose its progress. His regard for religion, and social order, led him to see in the most obnoxious light the pernicious principles of these new philosophers. Determined, therefore, to suppress the influence of their system, he painted in the strongest colouring all the maxims of this new sect, and addressed a memorial to the Emperor Leopold on the subject, with a view to check their further progress. The emperor very graciously received this memorial, and returned him an answer in his own hand-writing, accompanied with a splendid present.* Leopold seemed to be well-inclined to use the decisive interference of civil authority on this occasion, and would probably have had recourse to violent measures against the İlluminati, had not the death of Zimmerman prevented it.

The number of the affiliated members of this society, Zimmerman says, increased daily, chiefly by the assiduity of Baron de Knigge, who, in 1782, first suggested the idea of illuminating the Society of Freemasons, and who succeeded in that object, from Hanover to Copenhagen on one hand, and to Naples on the other. In 1788, the Brotherhood, he observes, were unmasked, and driven out of Bavaria; and in 1791 their papers were seized

* This was a locket, adorned with diamonds and the emperor's cypher.

at Munich and printed, but no discovery of im portance was made.*

Previous to the death of Zimmerman, in conjunction with M. Hoffmann of Vienna, he began a periodical work on the old principles. In this work all his former zeal was displayed, and the new philosophers were attacked with vehemence. This occasioned a violent repulse on their part: and the writers of the Bibliotheque Universelle, or Universal Library, as well as some of the best journalists, bore a considerable share in the con

* Of this Society we have the following account in this tract:'Whether this sect be the same with that of the Freemasons, or the Jesuits, both of which suppositions are improbable, is uncertain; but in 1774 or 1775, a Society was undoubtedly established in Bavaria, of which a celebrated Professor at Ingoldstadt has been regarded as the founder. This Society, under pretext of consulting the happiness of the people, and supposing that happiness to be incompatible with every species of religious and civil establishment at present existing, said with one voice, Let us destroy them all, and raze their very foundations. The secret Order of the Illuminati included among its mysterious principles, at present exposed to the whole world, the whole of the doctrine which the Jacobins of Paris have since put in practice; and it has been proved, by the most irrefragable documents, that they maintained an intimate correspondence together before the French revolution. The destruction of the Christian religion, and the subversion of every throne and of all governments, have been their aim ever since the year 1776. It was well understood, by the new associates of this Order, that the magic words, the happiness of the people, were the surest means to recruit their number with ease, and by which, in fact, the recruits became so numerous and well disciplined. Young men were chiefly pitched upon, who, not having yet formed a strong attachment to any particular opinion, were the more easily led away to embrace whatever was offered to them; and men of literary talents, whom it is important to secure when the propagation of any new opinion is in agitation. When once a person was enlisted, and fully penetrated with the enticing words, 'The happiness of the people-let us labour to procure the happiness of the people,' he became impatient to know the obstacles which were in the way of this purpose, and the means to be made use of to remove them; these were therefore offered to his view in succession.

The Order has five degrees: in the lower, the mysteries are not unveiled; they are only preparatory, on which the minds of the noviciates are founded and prepared; then, by degrees, those who are found worthy are initiated into the bigher ranks.'